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Saturday, May 04, 2019

Sunday Mews: Happy May! (Spring Roses & Dragons)

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by the wonderful Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking to Stacking the Shelves hosted by the great Team Tynga's Reviews and Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently. I am also linking The Sunday Salon hosted by the amazing Deb Nance of Readerbuzz where participants discuss what they are reading and other bookish topics. I am linking up to Nicole of Feed Your Addiction's Monthly Wrap-Up Post, where any book bloggers who write monthly wrap-up posts can link up and visit other bloggers to see what they have been reading.

New to My Shelves:

I only added one book to my TBR collection this past month. I found it in my basket on Easter morning.

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes

What I Am Reading: I currently am reading How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee, a historical fiction novel set in Singapore during World War II. Fiction set in and around the World Wars has always appealed to me, but this is a part of the world I have not read enough about during that that time period.

What Mouse Is Reading: Pokémon: Tales of Adventure and Goldie Blox Rules the School!
by Stacy McAnulty.

What I Am Watching: I have not been watching anything particular noteworthy recently. We have not yet seen the new Avengers movie, but hope to soon. I do not follow Game of Thrones, but have to say I am grateful the most recent episode knocked most of the talk of Endgame off of social media--so I haven't seen many spoilers.

Off the Blog: April was a relatively average month for us. The usual amount of busy-ness, but nothing like May and June will be. We had a nice quiet Easter. We are not particularly religious, but we do celebrate Easter in all its commercial glory--baskets and egg hunts. We each got a book in our basket, of course, because this Easter Bunny cannot help herself. Just this past week Mouse found an egg she had missed on Easter Sunday. I think there may be another one still in the library. Either she'll find it or my mom will when she visits later this month!

Work is going fine. One of the changes we faced last month (and still are feeling) is my manager's temporary reassignment to another area in the department. The shift has meant more responsibility for me. This will likely be the case for the next couple months until my manager is able to come back (fingers crossed!).

If you are are a regular visitor, you know my daughter will be performing in her dance studio's musical production of The Greatest Showman. Well, the studio also puts on a summer ballet at the same time. This year they are doing Don Quixote. My husband was asked if he would be willing to take on a small role--nothing that would require dancing, just perhaps a little acting. He agreed, and the next thing he knew, he has the part of Don Quixote! I admit my reading of the book the ballet is based on as fallen by the wayside and ventured close to falling in the DNF category. I guess I had better give it another try! Mouse is thrilled for her dad, and Anjin is excited about the opportunity. I don't think being in a ballet is anything he ever saw himself doing in his lifetime!

Roses in bloom

Roses in bloom

All tucked in

Ready for Easter

Here is what I finished reading in April:
Read with Mouse (including some re-reads):

Judy Moody Predicts the Future by Megan McDonald

Judy Moody Gets Famous! by Megan McDonald

I Am Jackie Robinson by Brad Meltzer

Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

The Princess in Black by Shannon and Dean Hale

A Bad Kitty Christmas by Nick Bruel

Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann

Read By Myself:

The Night Tiger by Yangszee Choo

Unraveling by Karen Lord

The Book Supremacy by Kate Carlisle

The last couple of months I have been feeling a bit slump-ish in regards to my reading, although, for the most part, I enjoyed what I did read. I especially loved reading Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing with Mouse. We laughed our way through it over Fudge's antics, but mostly sympathized with poor Peter. Although I started April's TBR List poll winner, The Master Key by Masako Togawa, in April, I did not finish it until May. I did enjoy it though!

I took an unplanned break from blogging this past month as my off line life took over completely. It was much needed, I think. I am glad to be back just the same. I missed you all!

Tell me what you have been up to! What are you reading, listening to and watching? How was your April? Do you have anything planned for this month?

*

Thank you for helping me decide what book from my TBR collection I should read next:

My TBR List is a meme hosted by the awesome Michelle at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Sunday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and take a poll as to which you think I should read. I will read the winner that month, and my review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise).

This month it is all about the dragons. I have several fantasy novels featuring dragons in one form or the other in my TBR collection, and it was hard to narrow the choices down to just three. These three are calling the loudest to me though.

Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal #1)
by Zen Cho

Magic and mayhem collide with the British elite in this whimsical and sparkling debut.

At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers—one of the most respected organizations throughout all of Britain—ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up.

But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large… [Goodreads Summary]

Shadow of The Fox (Shadow of the Fox #1) by Julie Kagawa

One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.

Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.

Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.

There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.

With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself. [Goodreads Summary]

The Last Namsara
(Iskari #1)
by Kristen Ciccarelli

In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer.These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her. [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read any of these? Which do you think I should read? What are some of your favorite books featuring dragons?

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Thank you for voting! I hope you all have a wonderful week! Happy Reading!

Greg - No Easter basket is complete without a book. Besides, books are good gifts for any holiday. :-) It was quite the surprise when he was told which role he would be playing. None of us were expecting that. I think it will be fun for him--and my daughter is so excited for him.

My husband doesn't think he can avoid spoilers for another week and so we're going to squeeze the movie in tomorrow. He's got our tickets. I hope you liked it!

Aww that's nice to get a book for Easter. And with such a pretty cover! I hope you're daughter does well! I love TGS. I always cry watching it. And wow, congrats to the husband! And it must suck to have your manager reassigned elsewhere :/

Genesis - I take full advantage of my role as Easter Bunny in our house to make sure I get something I want in my basket. ;-)

It was a blow to have our manager reassigned, however temporarily. We'll manage, but her absence is felt.

Thank you for the good wishes for my daughter. She is super excited about being a part of The Greatest Showman. I have a feeling my husband will become more nervous the closer he is to performance time. He's never taken a ballet class in his life. LOL

I love GoT and I loved Endgame!! Also Fawkes looks sooooooo gorgeous. I might have to go check that book out. I do hope work gets better for you. I also hope that you read The Last Namsara. I absolutely loved that book <3

Elle - I really want to read Nadine Brandes' Romanov and while drooling over that one, I discovered Fawkes. I hope it's as good as it sounds. I've been hearing good things about it, at least. Thank you for voting and the well wishes! I do want to read The Last Namsara, even if it doesn't win. :-) Thank you for visiting!

I'm going to see Endgame today. As for Game of Thrones, my wife and I resisted for the longest time and then finally after a few years, we got hooked through DVDs from a friend. Then we reached the point of no return. That said, I am thankful both Avengers and GoT are ending (somewhat). It's time. To everything there is a season. On the personal front, it sounds like you are keeping busy and understandably that affects reading. To everything there is a season. Sometimes the season of reading takes a backseat to family or is at least limited and I think that's okay too. I think sometimes as long-time book bloggers (and some who are reviewers), we think that we have to hit a target of X amount of books per year or we don't deserve the title of "book blogger." Personally, I believe it's okay to just enjoy the ride, enjoy whatever you're reading and not put pressure on yourself to reach some perceived peer pressure standard.

Bryan - What did you think of Endgame? I was happy with it overall. I am sure I will get around to watching Game of Thrones at some point. I had this crazy notion in my head that I should read all the books first and then watch it. I at least managed to read the first book before seeing the first season. I never got farther than that though. I need to get over my "read the book before seeing the movie/TV show/miniseries" rule and just watch the darn movie/TV show/miniseries. Haha.

I am hoping scaling back this summer will bring me some relief--and more time to read, which is really want I want to be doing. I put enough pressure on myself that I don't need others expectations weighing on me. A lesson I learned long ago--but still sometimes struggle with.

How exciting to have Mouse and your husband in the same play! I haven't read Don Quixote either - having it as the name of a very popular store in Japan meant I heard it enough times (and now, I think of a penguin whenever I see the name)

OK, loving the idea of a book in a basket :D The roses are beautiful, and I have to tell you, ALL these dragon books sound really good! But SHADOW OF THE FOX had me at ..."he Scroll of a Thousand Prayers..." <3

I wish the Easter Bunny left me a book or two :) I love that your husband is suddenly staring in the ballet. I am sure it will be a great experience. I hope your break from blogging was what you needed. Sometimes breaks are necessary. I hope you have a good week!

That is so exciting that your husband and daughter are going to be acting together. What a memory that is going to be! I can't wait to hear more about how that is going as they prepare for it. Hope you have a wonderful month!

I loved Sorcerer to the Crown so I voted for that one. Also The Shadow of the Fox is one of the free audios on Audiosync this summer; you will have to watch for it if you enjoy audio or want to try audio.

A break is often needed for various reasons. Beautiful roses! Have a lovely week!

I want to read Fawkes. I am going to read Romanov by the author which comes out Tuesday. I love that you have a Donald in the Easter set up! https://paigesofbook.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-sunday-post.html

Given that we are both intolerant to chocolate, books are the obvious gift from the Easter bunny:)). Congratulations on your husband's part of Don Quixote - so long as they don't have him tilting at windmills! I hope you enjoy Fawkes, I found it an entertaining read. Have a great week.

Sarah - Books are the idea Easter gift. :-) Thank you for the well wishes to my husband. He is looking forward to taking part in the ballet. I heard there might be a windmill, but that's just a rumor so far. ;-)

Finding books in the Easter basket is so much better than finding chocolate. =P I love reading books that feature dragons, but I haven't read any of those above. However, all of them received great reviews, so I guess any of them will be an excellent pick.

How is your daughter? Busy, as usual? My son just wrapped his show, Bright Star and now my daughter's show begins on Friday, Footloose. Next week, choir concerts. I wish they wouldn't cram all this into the end of the year when grades are so important. I've gotten so many grade notifications this week.

Ti - I enjoyed Endgame too. Mouse is doing well. Busy with rehearsals as always. Do you get much of a break this summer from your kids' activities? I know your son is probably preparing for his move to college. So exciting for him! Bittersweet for you.

Danielle - Thank you! I am sorry your roses didn't make it through the winter. The climate is fairly mild here, and so mine tend to survive no matter what I do or don't do to help the process along. I'm a terrible gardener. My daughter loves the Judy Moody books. :-)

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At the age of five, Literary Feline (aka Wendy) was diagnosed as a fabulavore. Due to the low story content of movies and television, she has required a steady supply of books to provide her sustenance. She currently resides in California with her loving husband, adorable daughter, and two affectionate and sassy cats. Literary Feline has broadened her nutritional sources by reviewing books. Please note: Literary Feline is not a bibliovore. She's not eating the books for goodness' sake.